JJ Grey and Mofro coming to the House of Blues on 2/20!

J.J. Grey and Mofro will be at the House of Blues in Boston on Friday, February 20^th.  The band, out of Jacksonville, combines the sounds of blues, soul, and funk with a healthy dash of southern rock.  Anyone that hasn't seem them perform live will be in for a real treat.  Grey brings a ton of energy to the show along with a packed band that includes pianos, saxophones and trumpets.  

The band’s most recent album, 'Ol’ Glory,' will feature 12 new songs and will be released on February 25^th.  

While we wait for new music, check out my favorite track, "Somebody Else," from 'The River'. 

The band, currently out on tour, will have stops both stateside and abroad. 

February 14 - Whig Fest - St. Petersburg, FL
February 15 - The Moon - Tallahassee, FL
February 18 - 9:30 Club - Washington, DC  
February 19 - The Egg - Albany, NY  
February 20 - House of Blues - Boston, MA  
February 21 - Terminal 5 - New York, NY        
|February 25 - Mr. Smalls - Pittsburgh, PA  
February 26 - Vogue - Indianapolis, IN
February 27 - Taft Theatre - Cincinnati, OH
February 28 - The Vic - Chicago, IL
March 1 - Intersection - Grand Rapids, MI     
March 4 - Jefferson - Charlottesville, VA 
March 5 - Ziggy's - Winston-Salem, NC
March 6 - Track 29 - Chattanooga, TN  
March 7 - Buckhead - Atlanta, GA   
March 18 - Islington Academy - London, England  
March 19 - New Morning - Paris, France
March 20 -  Kaufleuten Zurich - Zurich, Switzerland   
March 21 - Technik Museum - Munich, Germany  
March 23 - Batschkapp - Frankfurt, Germany   
March 24 - Kesselhaus - Berlin, Germany  
March 25 - Bluestage - Nuremberg, Germany   
March 26 - Rockpalast Crossroads Festival - Bonn, Germany  
March 27 - Paradiso Main Hall - Amsterdam, The Netherlands
March 28 - Paard van Troje - Den Haag, The Netherlands      
April 2 - 6 - Byron Bay Bluesfest - Byron Bay, Australia

Pick up your tickets for the show at the House of Blues, or any other show, here. 

From www.jjgrey.com

Country Round Up: Luke checks out of the beach, LBT's Girl Crush at the Opry, and Love and Theft's new album.

Luke Bryan will release his final Spring Break EP, ‘Spring Break … Checkin’ Out’ on March 10 ahead of his two beach concerts on March 11-12 in Panama City Beach, Florida.

Kenny Chesney and Grace Potter have the premiere of "Wild Child" on USA Today, today. 

Love and Theft released "Whiskey On My Breath" yesterday.  Check out my review here. 

Joe Nichols will be at the HOB Boston on February 28th. 

Little Big Town shared "Girl Crush" at the Grand Ole Orpy and I'm going to be singing it in my head all day.

Charlie Worsham has been working on a "Bus Jams" play list while touring Canada with Dallas Smith.  Check out his playlist on Spotify here.

You can check out the full episode ACM New Artist Special featuring Brett Eldredge, Tyler Farr, Sam Hunt, Kip Moore, Thomas Rhett, Chase Rice, Cole Swindell and Dan + Shay  here.

If you're attending a show, I'd love to hear from you.  Feel free to send in a review, pictures, or videos and the best will be featured on the site!  

Album Review: Love and Theft's "Whiskey On My Breath" shows depth, maturity.

With ear pleasing harmonies and light-hearted melodies, it could be easy to overlook the complexity of Love and Theft’s third album, Whiskey On My Breath.  The new release from duo Stephen Barker-Liles and Eric Gunderson is full of catchy phrases and, well, catchy phrases. Simply put, it's fun to listen to the melodies .  The album is an eclectic mix of songs that can both pull on your heartstrings or make you pour a cold beer (or both).  The album is a departure from some of the more pop sounding country you've heard from them in the past.  

The first track, “Can’t Wait for the Weekend,” gets the party started with the duo promising they can party on any day that ends in –Y.   The tempo changes with the sweet, “Anytime Anywhere” which promises a kiss, you guessed it, anytime, anywhere and features perhaps my favorite line on the album: "Slow dancing just off the blacktop; fireflies falling like electric raindrops." 

Track 3, “Hangout Hungover” brings us to a bar with a hopeful suitor promising his tab is open that night is young. 

We got a good buzz, we’re feeling all high,
We got our hands tangled up in a dance, and we’re feeling alright. 
We got the whole night to keep getting closer,
We got tomorrow, tomorrow to hangout hungover.

The fourth song, the title track, is one of two more subdued tracks on the album.  “Whiskey On MyBreath” slows the pace and pauses the party and adds depth to the album.  The song tells of someone not afraid of meeting Jesus, but knowing that they need changes before they get there.   

The album again goes back to love and fun with “Easy” and “Tan Lines”. The seventh track, “Everybody Drives Drunk” certainly has a title to catch your attention.  Armed with a straightforward melody and catchy harmony, you might overlook the relatable lyrics.  The track outlines the bad choices and decisions everyone makes, whether it be spending money you don’t have, cheating on someone you love, or driving drunk.  I've already seen some negativity over the title on social media and I hope those listening to the album give the song a chance. 

The eight track, “Wrong Baby Wrong” is a song written by Barker-Lilies for Martina McBride.  The final track, “Let’s Get Drunk and Make Friends” brings us full circle back to the party that started with “Can’t Wait for the Weekend”.

In addition to their phenomenal harmonies, the album features great guitar and instrumentals.  Whiskey On My Breath has something for everyone: fun party anthems, somber soul searching, and sweet love songs. 

You can pre-order Whiskey On My Breath here.

My Big Three:
Everybody Drives Drunk

Hangout Hungover
Whiskey On My Breath

Track Listing

1. Can’t Wait for the Weekend
2. Anytime Anywhere
3. Hangout Hungover
4. Whiskey On My Breath
5. Easy
6. Tan Lines
7. Everybody Drives Drunk
8. Can’t Stop Smiling
9. Wrong Baby Wrong
10. Like I Feel It
11. Let’s Get Drunk and Make Friends

And just because it's awesome - 

Check out Love and Theft on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

The Sinclair hosts Country 102.5's Chicks with Picks and One Cool Dude

The Sinclair hosted a packed house for Country 102.5's "Chicks with Picks and One Dude" on February 4th to benefit the Floating Hospital for Children at Tuft's Medical Center.

The event featured premiere Nashville talent including Easton Corbin, the cook dude, and the chicks, Massachusetts' own Lori McKenna, Kelsea Bellerini, and Maddie  & Tae.  The show was set up as a Nashville style songwriter's night with each artist taking time to explain the reason for writing their hits and then playing them for a a packed house.

The highlights for me was definitely hearing Lori McKenna's the story and song behind "Girl Crush" by Little Big Town.  McKenna revealed the hit, written along her songwriting partners, Liz Rose and Hillary Lindsey group, was not a hit for everyone at first but that once they started working on it, it came pretty easily.  Later the same day, Little Big Town's Karen Fairchild and Kimberly Schlapman came to hear what they had been working on, they immediately fell in love with the song.

Kelsae Bellerini showed her vocal range by playing a variety of songs, including the current Billboard #34, "Love Me Like You Mean It".

I've been lucky enough to see Easton Corbin for the second time in a few weeks and he was definitely the cool dude.  He played some of his hits including current single, "Baby Be My Love Song" and a song that might be his first single off his upcoming album.  

Finally, Maddie and Tae showed that their talent is more than just being a "Girl in a Country Song". Maddie posses an absolutely breathtaking voice and they have a fun range of songs about the high school bully to songs more serious songs of overcoming adversity like their current release, "Fly". 

Country Round Up: Sam starts his tour, Dierks on TV, ticket sales, and more!

*People Country was with Sam Hunt as he kicked off his Lipstick Graffiti tour in Los Angeles over the weekend.  Check out the full photo album here.

*Dierks Bentley and the fellas had a busy week kicking off the Super Bowl in Arizona then making appearances with "Say You Do" on Ellen and then a rare "Riser" on the David Letterman show.

*Tickets for Eric Church at the Garden will be on sale at 10 AM on Friday, February 6th.  Check out behind the scenes for the Outsiders tour here. 

*Tickets for Little Big Town and David Nail on September 5, 2015 at the Blue Hills Bank Pavilion are on sale tomorrow as well.

*Tickets for Darius Rucker, Brett Eldredge, and the Brothers Osborne July 10th in Gilford, NH at Meadowbrook are also on sale tomorrow.  Tickets are also on sale for Lady A, Hunter Hayes, and Sam Hunt on August 16th at 10 AM.

*Listen to The Bull 101.7 all this week to win tickets to their private show with A Thousand Horses.  Listen to their latest song, Smoke, here.

*Finally, ABC News has this heartwarming story about Luke Bryan taking in his nephew following the death of his brother in law.

Josh Abbott Band and Pat Green come to the House of Blues 3/8

Pat Green and the Josh Abbott Band will return to Boston on March 8, 2015 at the House of Blues.  I was able to chat with Preston Wait, a member of the band about their EP, new album, and touring with Pat.  Wait has been a member of the Josh Abbott Band since 2008, playing the fiddle and guitar.

Wait’s excited to return to the House of Blues along with Green.  Wait calls Green, “One of our biggest influences” and says the band has always been big fans.  Green and the band, all from Texas, even recorded a song together, “My Texas”.  Being from Texas, Wait says one of his favorite venues is the famous Billy Bob’s Texas in Fort Worth but that the biggest thrill for any country musician is to play the Grand Ole Opry.   The band enjoys interacting with their fans, of twitter, Wait says, "I think it’s a great way to connect with fans that know that there’s a real person there."  

The band is currently working on a new album, their first full album with their new record label, Atlantic Records & Warner Music Nashville.  The band released “Small Town Family Dream” independently in 2012.  In September, the band released a five song EP, “Tuesday Night” which will be included on the new album.  The band is excited to get back into the studio, especially to work with producer Keith Stegall.  “Everyone was stoked up to get in the same studio as that guy,” said Wait.  Stegall, a Grammy award winner, has previous worked with the likes of Alan Jackson, Zac Brown Band, and Craig Campbell.  The album will be available early this summer. 

Their current single, “Hanging Around,” has been steadily climbing the charts.  Here's the video filmed at Nashville's, Tin Roof.  

 Check out Wait, the rest of the Josh Abbott Band and Pat Green on Sunday, March 8^th at the House of Blues.  For tickets, click here.  And download the EP here.